X-Men: Destiny
by youngmoney97
Summary: The X-Men encounter a serious new threat that will call into question the purpose of their team and the strength of their friendships. As a new situation threatens to tear the team apart, is there any way for the team to hold together and defeat this new evil?
1. Revelation (Part 1)

_X-Men: Destiny_

Part One: Revelation

The sky darkened. Clouds slowly moved across the sky, creating a layer of darkness, covering the sun. The rumbling of thunder could be heard in the distance, faint yet powerful. Flashes of lightning could be seen in the distance, followed by the loud booms of thunder. They were getting closer. Rain began to pour from the sky, relentlessly and without end. Hail dropped from the sky, piercing everything in its path.

"Are you sure this was our best option?" asked an apprehensive Emma Frost. The platinum haired, British beauty cautiously approached the cockpit of the _Blackbird_, the famous and powerful jet of the X-Men. Dr. Henry 'Hank' McCoy, otherwise known as Beast, was carefully piloting the Blackbird closer to the storm.

"Well, I suppose we could have waited the storm out," said Beast, "but I have a feeling it's _our _Storm that's causing this meteorological mishap."

"You mean to say Ororo is causing the storm?" asked Emma.

"Well that _is_ her mutant power, and she _is_ the reason we're coming here in the first place," replied the Beast.

"But why would she try to prevent us from approaching her?" asked Emma.

"Why don't you use that power of yours to find out?" asked Logan, aka, the Wolverine, gruffly.

"Because, Storm has a level of psychic resistance, especially when she is using her powers. It seems as though a psychic barrier is in place whenever she calls upon the elemental forces. I cannot reach her," Emma explained.

"Alright, what about Scott?" asked Logan.

"I'll try him again," said Emma. Closing her eyes and touching the temples of her head, she tried to reach out telepathically to Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, co-leader of the X-Men. "I cannot make a connection with him. Something - or someone - is blocking me. I cannot make any connection at all. I'm afraid I won't be of much use until we get down there."

"Alright then, buckle up, Frost 'cause we're goin' in," said Logan.

"We are beginning our descent, everyone please strap yourselves in," announced Hank. Emma walked back to her seat, and strapped herself in. Sitting next to her was fellow teammate, Rogue.

"Hey, sugar, what's got ya down?" asked Rogue. Emma raised her brow; it would still require some time before she could get used to Rogue's southern drawl.

"Well, other than the total uselessness of my psychic powers from up here," began Emma, her crisp British accent in stark contrast to the longer vowel sounds and diphthongs of Rogue's drawl, "I fear something has happened to Scott. I've established a special psychic connection with him that cannot be easily broken or blocked, and yet I cannot contact him telepathically."

Rogue looked a bit taken aback. "Well, Ah didn't know you had quite a heart, Ms. Frost."

"Watch it," warned Emma.

"Aw, Ah didn't mean it like that," said Rogue, "Ah just mean, every dog should have a few fleas."

"What?" asked Emma, confused by the southern expression,

"No one's perfect, honey," said Rogue.

"Oh …" said Emma. Suddenly, the Blackbird lurched forward.

"This is your captain speaking," said Beast, "We have a slight problem."

"We're falling out of the sky!" yelled Kitty, aka Shadowcat, "that is NOT a _small_ problem!"

"Oh God," Emma said, as she saw the cause of their predicament. Ororo Munroe, aka Storm, a fellow X-Man, was high in the air. Her pure white hair was violently whipping in the catastrophic winds. Her eyes were electric blue, filled with elemental energy, which was expelled by her hands, which were glowing with lightning. Thunder boomed and lightning cracked, flashing everywhere, leaving only destruction wherever it touched down. Rain was flooding the ground. Storm's intense glare and daunting demeanor was enough to intimidate even the Incredible Hulk. Her elemental powers were destroying the land all around her.

The Blackbird had been hit by a bolt of lightning and was being tossed about by the wind. As the jet plummeted to the ground, Emma Frost activated her secondary mutation: she transformed her body into a solid yet flexible, organic, and near-invulnerable diamond. Rogue, her energy draining powers complemented by Ms. Marvel's flight, super strength, and invulnerability, was already protected enough from the possible destruction of the crash-landing.

"It's gonna blow! Everyone out!" yelled Logan.

"You got it, partner," said Rogue. She rose into the air, and, punching a hole in the ceiling, grabbed her flightless partners, Nightcrawler and Beast, and exited the jet. Kitty Pryde grabbed hold of Iceman, and she phased through the floor of the jet, landing safely on a stretch of ice created by Iceman. Emma Frost, Logan, and Colossus were the only ones left.

"You two go!" said Logan, "I'll see that this thing lands without hurting any of you."

"Alright then, now that that's settled," said Emma, she watched Colossus punch a hole in the side of the jet, big enough for them to jump out of. Colossus, covered in a steel-like substance, leaped out of the jet, followed by Emma in her diamond form.

The Blackbird swerved in the sky and crashed into a cluster of trees. The explosion that followed disheartened all of the X-Men. Storm, finally realizing what had happened, slowly began to descend to the ground. The clouds began pulling back to reveal the brilliant sun, and the torrential rains became droplets of the water on the ground.

"Storm!" called Beast. "Storm - it's us."

"I see that," replied Ororo. "And you must _die_." With speed and precision, Storm aimed a lightning bolt at Beast. When it hit the furry blue mutant, he was knocked back a few yards, stunned. He lay on the ground, smoke rising from his singed fur.

"Ororo! What are you doing?!" called out Emma.

"I am protecting my destiny!" she yelled. Another well-placed lightning bolt sent Emma (still in diamond form) flying backwards.

"Storm, stand down!" yelled Colossus.

"I am sorry, Piotr, but I cannot," said Storm, rising into the air. The sky began to grow dark again, and lightning began to flash.

[_It's brilliant isn't it?] _thought Exodus, the immortal mutant telepath/telekinetic mastermind. [_Being able to manipulate anyone through their mind. Look how easily these heroes fall. Storm is in my control. Yet she believes she is doing this for herself.]_

"Get out of my head!" shouted a disturbed Scott Summers.

_ [No, Scott.] _replied Exodus, projecting this thought directly into the mind of Scott Summers. [_I thought that through your mind I would be able to find Miss Jean Grey. But the last thing you can remember of her is her death.]_

"Is that what this is all about?" asked Scott.

[_Well other than Emma Frost, Iceman, and Professor Xavier,] _thought Exodus, [_Jean Grey is the only other Omega-Level mutant, and probably the most powerful.]_

"So why not take Emma or Bobby or even Charles?"

[_Because Jean Grey is more powerful than them in her own way. Emma Frost and Charles Xavier are on par with each other when it comes to telepathy, but neither of them have telekinesis, like Jean. And also Jean's powers have been greatly enhanced due to the powers of the Phoenix.] _thought Exodus. [_Jean is the true owner of the Phoenix, but I intend to use Jean's powers for the benefit of all mutants.]_

"That's what she was doing!" yelled Scott. "She used her powers to help people." Scott began pulling at the steel cuffs restraining his hands and legs.

[_She did not use it to it's full potential, and I intend to,] _thought Exodus.

"Well you can't now; it's too late," said Scott. "Jean's gone."

[_I don't think you understand, Mr. Summers,]_ thought Exodus. [_The Phoenix allows its host to resurrect. Jean will be back. It's just a matter of time. And I am content on keeping you as my hostage until she returns. That way, she will be sure to return to me.]_

"No!"

"Yes," said Exodus, now using his voice instead of his telepathy. "Now, Scott, watch your teammates destroy each other."

The bodies of Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Beast littered the ground. Storm's wild powers had put them down, while Emma Frost, Iceman, and Rogue attempted to battle the weather goddess.

"Emma - you need to put her down psychically!" shouted Iceman.

"It would be of no use! She is already naturally resistant to telepathy and psychic attacks!" responded Emma.

"Well, Ah'm not gonna wait around for ya'll to come up with a plan - I'ma goin' in!" hollered Rogue. She lifted off, flying through the air. Her curly brown hair, streaked with strips of white, whipped in the wind, as she flew full force at Storm. The white-haired mutant turned just in time to see Rogue flying at her. Storm increased the speed of the wind to extremely dangerous levels to slow down Rogue. Roge struggled to move forward. The power of the wind was such that large, sturdy trees were being ripped from the ground and strewn carelessly across the ground. For a few desperate moments, Rogue hung helplessly in the air, unable to move forward. But she persisted.

While Rogue struggled for a foothold, Storm began to bombard the remaining two X-Men with bolts of white-hot lightning. Iceman had created a large pillar of ice to protect himself and Emma from Storm's lightning. He had to provide a continuous supply of ice in order to keep the construction from melting under Storm's electric wrath. Seeing that Bobby had created a defense, Storm intensified her efforts.

**BOOM!**

The sound of thunder shook the ground, but Bobby's ice construction held firm. The weather mutant gathered all the clouds together in one large, swirling circle.

"That doesn't look good …" gulped Bobby/Iceman.

"You don't say …" replied Frost, hiding behind the cover of Iceman's shield.

Storm's eyes were an intense blue and spurts of lightning began emanating from her irises. Her hands glowed with elemental energy and her long white hair was flailing in the intense winds. Storm, ripping all the lightning that she possibly could from the clouds, directed the incredibly massive and lethal lightning bolt to Iceman's shield.

The lightning bolt tore through Iceman's shield, sending shards of ice flying in every direction. The lightning blast had also taken out Iceman, who laid on the ground with his right arm blasted off. Because Storm had focused so much of her energy on Iceman, Rogue had a chance to get out of Storm's hold.

_BAM!_ Rogue slammed into Storm. The two tumbled to the ground. Emma came rushing forward, in diamond form. Using the power of the wind, Storm lifted herself up into the air, hovering above the ground. She prepared to strike at the X-Men again, but Emma jumped with surprising agility (due to the enhanced reflexes that came with her diamond powers. She landed on top Storm, who toppled to the ground. Storm blasted Emma with lightning from her hands. Suddenly, Storm felt a pair of cold hands on her face. It was Rogue; her mutant power to absorb memories, powers, abilities, and life force was activated through physical contact. She began absorbing Storm's powers and memories, not so much that Storm would die, but enough to weaken her considerably.

"Good Rogue! That should allow me to access her mind," said Emma. She reverted to her human form, and reached out telepathically into Storm's mind. Storm's eyes widened as she sensed Emma's presence in her mind.

"Get out of my head!" Storm yelled. "Get OUT!" As she struggled, lightning flashed in the sky and the clouds hung threateningly over their heads. Storm's eyes were lit up by the lightning.

"I think I see the problem," said Emma. "She's been mentally manipulated, but I cannot tell by whom."

"You mean some uhther (other) telepath was in her mahnd (mind)?" asked Rogue.

"Yes, that's why she attacked us. But whoever it was disguised themselves very well. And Storm can't recall any of it," said Emma. "Well it's no use trying to remove his influence from her mind. It would take too long, and we have to get in there."

"Well, we can' jis' leave her. She'll start attackin' us agin," said Rogue. Emma smiled and turned into diamond again.

"I think not." Emma landed a swift kick to the side of Storm's head. Storm cried out in pain, but fell over unconscious. Turning back into human form, Emma said, "I don't think she'll be a problem now."

"Why I oughta' thump you, Miz Frost," said Rogue angrily. "Now whah would you do thayut?"

"Oh, get over it," Emma replied. "We need to get inside that building." Behind the two mutant women, there was a large Mutant Response Division Headquarters. "It's abandoned. I've already scanned the building telepathically."

"So whah are we a-goin' in, then?" asked Rogue.

"Because Scott is in there," said Emma. "I'm sure of it. Whoever psychically blocked me from Storm's mind must also be doing the same to Scott."

"Well, this ain't exactly the place where you git to walk right on in," said Rogue.

"I think your new powers can take care of that," said Emma. Rogue called on Storm's powers. She raised her hands in front of her and created a huge lightning blast, knocking down the large, heavily fortified metallic doors.

"Thaaank you, Storm," said Rogue. The two women entered the facility.


	2. Revelation (Part 2)

_Part One (Continued): Revelation_

With a loud growl and a powerful kick, the Wolverine was able to break the class screen that protected the cockpit of the Blackbird from the atmospheric conditions. Most of the Blackbird had been blown to smithereens by now, but Wolverine had escaped the explosion with a few singed hairs and couple of burns. His healing factor had kicked in as soon as the wounds were delivered to his durable body. There were holes that the fire had burned into his costume. He pulled his cowl over his head, and marched onward towards the MRD Headquarters.

Meanwhile, Rogue and Emma Frost had been searching the building.

"Ah!" cried out Rogue, holding her head. "Mah head! It's a-hurtin'!" Emma could sense the psychic presence of Exodus, the immortal mutant.

"Hold still," said Emma, touching her temples. She entered Rogue's mind. At first it was confusing. Rogue's mind was a complicated mess of the memories of everyone she'd ever touched. It was nearly impossible to access the correct psychic pathways. Finally, she located the source of the problem. She found Exodus's mental manifestation. Emma projected her own psychic manifestation into Rogue's jumbled mind.

"Exodus, leave_ now_!" said Emma sternly to the mutant. Exodus laughed at Emma's boldness.

"Emma Frost, the former White Queen of the Hellfire Club - I used to respect you and your telepathic prowess. But now you've become soft. Those X-Men have made you weak. What are you doing with that bunch? You're better than that!" said Exodus.

"Oh, please, Mr. Exodus. You don't know me at all, and your ornery mannerisms and amateurish telepathic commands do not impress me in the least. You disgust me, you pathetic waste of space," Emma responded, knowing full well that this would only anger and egg on the mutant. She actually respected Exodus's telepathic abilities. It was clear that he was skilled; he was a master manipulator. But she also knew that her own abilities had not softened with the X-Men. In fact, she was ready to demonstrate just how harsh she could be.

The psychic manifestation of Exodus laughed, and his eyes glowed red. He projected a beam of psychic energy from his eyes. Emma used her own psychic energy to protect herself with a green colored shield.

"Impressive," commented Exodus.

"You've seen nothing," said Emma. With a grunt, she moved her hands forward and created an intense sonic projection; psychic sound waves pierced every part of Rogue's mind. No doubt this was hurting Rogue as well, but Emma needed to expel the power of Exodus. He growled in pain and covered his ears, but that would not help him as the pain was in his very mind. Exodus's eyes burned red with hate and anger, and he unleashed a large beam of deadly psychic energy. It hit Emma square in the chest, and she was sent flying backwards. She grunted in pain and cursed under her breath.

"You fool!" she hollered. Transforming into a diamond, she raced forward dodging Exodus's attacks. She slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. She shoved her diamond hand into his psychic projection's brain, disrupting his psychic abilities. This mental torture proved agonizing for Exodus. However, he recovered and with a well-placed mental beam, he knocked Emma backwards.

"I hope you're ready for a world of pain, Ms. Frost!" yelled Exodus. He lifted Emma Frost up using his telekinetic powers, and began slowly to tear her diamond form apart. Emma could feel her molecules bursting as they were slowly being torn apart. Soon cracks began to form in her diamond body. The fissures became wider and the cracks became deeper. She was on the verge of shattering. If she was defeated in Rogue's mind, her psychic entity would never be able to return to her body, her body would die, and she would cease to exist. Suddenly, Exodus cried out in pain.

"Wolverine!" he roared. Slowly his psychic manifestation disappeared, leaving Emma in Rogues mind. Emma shifted back into her human form and began searching Rogue's consciousness for Rogue. She found the psychic manifestation of Rogue unconscious. She reawakened Rogue's conscious mind, and then left her mind. Both women woke up in their own bodies.

"Whoa – what jist happened to me?" asked Rogue.

"Exodus was mentally attacking you. My own psychic defenses could not be penetrated by Magneto's amateur telepath. So I went into your mind to rescue you. Clearly, the battle ravaged your mind, but I was able to restore you to prime mental health. Remind me to boost your mental defenses when we return to the Institute," said Emma.

"So you defeated Exodus?" asked Rogue.

"Well, not exactly. In fact, it was a very close battle. But he just vanished, and something tells me Wolverine had something to do with it," explained Emma.

"Well let's a-go fahnd (find) out!" said Rogue.

"I can sense Wolverine's presence on the 10th level. The elevators are offline. It will take some time to get all the way up there walking," said Emma.

"No problem, partner," Rogue reassured Emma. Lifting up the blonde telepath, Rogue glided up into the air, and she punched through every ceiling onto the next floor until they reached the 10th level.

"Don't ever do that again," warned Emma.

"Now, listen here, bub," growled Wolverine, "you took out a mess of my pals back there. And you're gonna pay for it." Exodus groaned in pain on the floor. His hand was attempting to hold back a steam of blood pouring through a wound in his chest.

"I will _not_ be thwarted by an animal!" yelled Exodus.

"Well, bub, let me tell ya," said Wolverine, "you look pretty banged up to me."

"If you hadn't attacked me while I was engaged in a telepathic battle, you would be defeated by now!" said Exodux, attempting to access Wolverine's mind. "Your mind … I- I cannot reach it. It is shielded! But how?"

As Rogue and Emma came crashing through the floor, Emma said. "Why don't you tell me, Exodus?"

"I should have had Storm kill you when I had the chance!" said Exodus. "No matter – you are _mine_! All of you!"

"I don't think so, bub," said Wolverine. "The X-Men are gonna –" Wolverine was cut off by a scarlet optic blast from the eyes of Scott Summers, aka Cyclops.

"Scott Summers is now mine," said Exodus. He struggled to stand up. Emma Frost began attacking his mind, but even in his weakened state, Exodus was able to fend off her mental attacks.

"Snap out of it, Summers," said Wolverine. Cyclops responded with another optic blast, sending Logan through the walls. Rogue glided over to Cyclops and threw him against the wall. Another optic blast took care of Rogue. Emma struggled to put down Exodus.

"Using your telepathic gifts is useless, Frost. I am clearly stronger," said Exodus.

"Then perhaps a test of strength would be more appropriate," said Emma.

"I made I clear that _I _am the stronger one," said Exodus.

"You are a strong telepath," confirmed Emma, "but you don't have _diamond skin_." The split second that it took for Emma to turn into diamond was just enough for her to send Exodus through the wall. Her kick had sent him flying. Emma reverted to her organic form and turned to Scott. "Rogue – drain him!"

"Are ya sure?" asked Rogue dodging an optic blast.

"Just do it! His weakened state should negate Exodus's psychic barriers," said Emma.

"Alrighty then," said Rogue. She pinned Cyclops against the wall and ungloved her hand. Touching Scott's face, she drained his life force. The enfeebled Scott Summers fell to his knees.

"_**Rawwwr!**_" Wolverine's growl sounded through the building as he reengaged Exodus. Emma touched her temples and Scott Summers collapsed onto the ground.

"What'd you do to 'im?" asked Rogue.

"I removed Exodus's telepathic commands, but as a result, Scott's mental state has been gravely destabilized, and he fell unconscious," explained Emma. "Now let's help Wolverine and finish this business."


	3. Revelation (Part 3)

~ _Well, the way I see it, you have two options. You can talk to me here and now, or we can wait until Wolverine gets back. Which would you prefer, you scoundrel?_ ~

~ _I don't have to answer to the likes of you! I would never give up the location of my master._ ~

~ _I don't care about where he is. I want his purpose. _~

~ _His purpose? You've spent years with the X-Men and you still want to know his purpose? Pathetic._ ~ "Agh!" Exodus cried out, his hands reaching to his head, but they couldn't reach. His hands were chained to a metal chair. His powers were restricted by a collar that he was made to wear. Emma Frost entered his mind in order to interrogate him - she meant to be patient with him, but his last insult had caused her to give up on patience entirely.

~ _This is your final warning, Exodus. Reveal what you know now, or I promise you, you will live out the rest of your immortal life praying you had never been born_. ~

"You're the telepath - you tell me!" Exodus shouted. It was true - Emma should have been able to simply delve into his mind and 'pluck' the necessary information from his mind. But she couldn't. She wasn't sure what it was exactly, but there was something there - or not there rather. It was almost as if all of his memories were missing.

"This meeting is over," said Emma, curtly. She got up, out of her chair, and tried not to let her frustration show. She opened the door of the interrogation room and stepped outside.

"... so thanks, again, for letting us use this location. We needed to question him, but bringing him back to the Institute was a bad idea," said Cyclops to a brazen, redheaded woman.

"It was the least I could do. Besides, I consider Logan one of my friends and Exodus is technically a criminal," the redhead replied. Emma Frost walked over to Scott.

"Emma, I think you two have met before - this is Natasha - "

"Romanoff - yes I _do_ believe I've made her acquaintance once or twice before," Emma said. Natasha Romanoff, aka the Black Widow, extended her hand to Emma, who shook it, reluctantly and almost with a look of disgust. The woman was wearing a tight black leather catsuit, with two Glock 26 handguns holstered to her thighs. The golden bracelets around her wrists packed a powerful electric charge and the belt around her waist held various odds and ends. She was an agent of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Espionage & Logistics Division, SHIELD for short.

"Is he talking?" asked Cyclops.

"No - and I can't access his mind. It's as if there's nothing left in it," responded Emma.

"What do you need to find out?" asked the Widow.

"The location of - " began Scott.

"Does she really need to know? She's SHIELD," said Emma.

"Logan vouched for her," said Scott. "You need to learn to cooperate with her."

"That doesn't exactly help her case, and the last time I checked, SHIELD wasn't so willing to cooperate with us. Especially not when they sicced their Avengers on us," said Emma.

"That was the past, and she was following orders," said Scott."We need to know the location of Magneto - these attacks he's been setting up - they don't make sense. It's not Magneto's style. Something's wrong."

"Give me two minutes," said Natasha. She strutted forward, into the interrogation room. She flipped her long red hair. Exodus looked up. Cyclops couldn't hear what she was saying, but then Exodus laughed. The Widow smiled. With inhuman speed, she grabbed the mutant's long black hair and slammed his head down onto the metal table, quickly and repeatedly until blood flowed from his nose. She punched his throat, then his stomach, and pulled his face close to hers. He whispered something to her, and then she dropped him.

"I'm not entirely sure how this will help, but he said something about a group called the Purifiers," reported the Widow.

"There ain't no way Exodus is working fer the Purifiers," chimed in Wolverine. "They're mutant haters. They want to wipe us out."

"In all likelihood, he was not telling you the truth," said Emma.

"Well, we have to start somewhere," said Scott.

"Oh, _excellent_," said Emma, dryly. "And what shall we do with Exodus?"

"You can keep him here for as long as you want. This place is absolutely secure, and with that collar on, he can't do a thing. I'll be staying here for at least a week, so you have at least that long before he has to be moved," said Natasha.

"And if SHIELD finds out?" asked Emma.

"I'll tell them that it's exactly what it looks like - a criminal was detained and he's being questioned," said Natasha.

"Won't they get suspicious?" asked Storm, who until that point had remained silent as she attended to the wounded Beast and Angel.

"If they knew _half_ the things I do behind their backs, there's no way I would still be a SHIELD agent," Natasha told them.

"Is that supposed to be reassuring?" asked Emma.

"It's good enough for me," said Scott. "And now we have to go. Has Rogue been able to do something about the jet?"

"No, but I'll have my people fix it for me. Until then, you can use one of our jets," the Widow offered.

"Thanks," said Scott. "We need to get back to the Institute to sort all this out."

The X-Men left leaving the Black Widow alone with Exodus … what could possibly go wrong?


	4. The Escape of Exodus

*** **Please leave reviews! If you like it or even if you don't like it, let me know what can be better. And let me know if you like the Black Widow's brief inclusion or if it really bothered you. Please review so I can keep writing, and write better. Next chapter will be back with the X-Men. More to come - thanks!*****

_**The Escape of Exodus**_

Natasha Romanova sat across the table from Exodus, in the interrogation room. She leaned forward, her deep red hair falling across her shoulders.

"They're here," said the mutant. Natasha never once shifted her gaze from the mutant. On the screen that displayed what was recorded by the security cameras, Natasha could see a large, hulking figure. He had long dirty blonde hair and displayed the characteristics of an animal. He had large razor-sharp claws, fangs, and brutish strength. The cameras didn't pick up audio, but she didn't need to hear to understand that this animal was tearing right through the SHIELD agents stationed at the entrance. She knew exactly who it was: Victor Creed, a mutant who went by the name of Sabretooth. He wasn't the only attacker, and Natasha knew that it was just a matter of time before they got through to her. All she had left to do was wait. On another screen, Exodus watched Karima Shapandar, also known as Omega Sentinel, blast her way through a team of SHIELD agents. Karima's body with half organic/half machine. She had all the powers of a mutant-hunting Sentinel, and she used them to take down Natasha's guards.

*This is Agent Hall* the radio on the table in front of Natasha blurted out. *We need backup! We've identified the intruders as Sabretooth, Omega Sentinel, Mystique, and Vindaloo.*

Natasha sighed, and radioed back *I've sent for help, Agent Hall. Just try to hold them back for as long as you can.* Exodus grinned at Natasha, and stood up, pushing back his chair.

"Sit down!" she commanded. Exodus ignored her and began moving closer and closer, walking around the table. The Black Widow grabbed her Glock 26 from her right holster and aimed it at the mutant. Just then there was a loud knock on the large metallic sliding doors.

*This is Agent Hall requesting permission to enter. I have a wounded officer here. We're the last survivors of the group.* Natasha ran to the door and, without thinking, opened it. She came face to face with not one, but two Agent Hall's. One _was_ wounded and bleeding and the other was pointing a gun at Natasha's head.

The Black Widow sprang into action, delivering a flurry of kicks and punches that knocked Agent Hall to the ground. This "Agent Hall" slowly transformed - his blonde hair grew down past his shoulders and turned a bright shade of red, while his pale skin turned into a light blue. His brown eyes shifted to yellow and his SHIELD outfit transformed into a white dress. In Agent Hall's place stood the shapeshifting femme fatale, Raven Darkholme, aka Mystique. Mystique jumped, kicked off the wall, and drop-kicked Natasha to the floor.

Sabretooth came bounding into the room closely followed by Omega Sentinel. Natasha whipped out her Glock 26's and open fired on Sabretooth, who howled in pain, but quickly recovered. Mystique knocked the guns out of Natasha's hands, and the two began to fight hand to hand. Meanwhile, Sabretooth leaned close to the real Agent Hall. His mouth contorted into a sick, twisted smile, revealing his fangs and rank breath.

Mystique punched Natasha in the face, but Natasha rolled under Mystique and slammed the blue mutant into a wall. Mystique dropped to the floor, and the Black Widow brought her heel down hard on her face. Mystique's nose broke and her blood began to drip onto the floor. Natasha grabbed Mystique's gun and aimed at Omega Sentinel who had been hovering nearby. In that instant, Vindaloo unleashed a a jet of green-colored pyrotechnics that melted the bullet and the gun. Omega Sentinel raised her hand, and fired a repulsor ray from her palm that sent Natasha flying backwards.

Sabretooth pinned Natasha against the wall. Mystique got back up and grabbed one of the Widow's Glocks. She aimed it at her head.

"I've honestly been dying to go head-to-head with you, Widow," she said. "But I guess, _you'll_ be the one dying, now." She laughed and cocked the gun.

_Bang!_

The bullet didn't come from Mystique's gun, but rather, from Agent Hall's. Mystique yelped and dropped to the floor. The bullet had gone through the back of her knee and exited through her now mangled knee cap. Sabretooth let out a vicious roar, and dug his claws into Hall's hand, forcing him to drop the gun. He knocked Hall to the ground, and dug his claws into Hall's stomach.

Hall screamed in agony as Sabretooth slowly brought his claw from Hall's bellybutton all the way to his neck, splitting the agent's abdomen and chest open. Sabretooth sadistically toyed with Hall's intestines before the agent passed on.

Natasha had taken that opportunity to deliver a kick to Omega Sentinel. Karima punched the Widow in the face, and brought her to her knees.

"Do you honestly think you can beat _all_ of us?" asked Karima [Omega Sentinel].

"I don't have to," said the Black Widow, placing a small chip on Sabretooth's overcoat. Sabretooth let out another roar, as Mystique freed Exodus.

Exodus floated over to her. "Silly girl. I told you I would be freed. And now you shall pay." While Sabretooth and Omega Sentinel held the Widow down, Exodus touched her forehead with his hand, and the Widow started to scream ...


End file.
